Crops play an important role in maintaining global food security. Increasing food production is a major long-term goal of crop breeding. Yield is one of the most important polygenic traits in crops. It is a complex quantitative trait controlled by many genes and strongly influenced by environmental factors. Yield-related traits have higher heritability than grain yield and play a significant role in increasing grain yield. Therefore, they have attracted the attention of breeders in recent decades. However, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind yield-related traits in crops is limited. Identifying loci associated with yield-related traits has become an important topic in molecular breeding practices for high-yielding crops, which helps us to understand the correlations among yield-related traits at the molecular level. Advances in sequencing technology have provided more opportunities than ever to rapidly and efficiently dissect the genetic architecture of crop yield and yield components. The use of this genetic information provides plant breeders with a variety of modern tools and methods to deeply dissect the genetic basis of yield and yield traits.

Fig. 1. Manhattan plot for genome-wide association study of maize yield related traits. (Zeng et al., 2022)

Our yield-related traits analysis service

CD Genomics is committed to agrigenomic research and provides comprehensive yield-related traits analysis services to help researchers and breeders elucidate the genetic basis of crop yield and accelerate crop breeding and improvement programs. We offer a wide range of genetic and genomic technologies to dissect a variety of quantitative traits and identify their chromosomal locations, facilitating the identification of many marker trait associations in a variety of crop species.

We have successfully used single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers to perform genome-wide association studies (GWAS) mapping of yield and yield-related traits in a variety of crops (including barley, corn, rice, beans, etc.).

• Genotyping and genomic data generation. We utilize advanced genotyping techniques, such as SNP markers, to capture genetic variation associated with yield-related traits. By genotyping different plant samples, we generate high-quality genomic data for you as a basis for further analysis.
• GWAS. We offer GWAS to identify genetic loci associated with yield-related traits. By integrating genomic and phenotypic data, we can identify specific regions of the genome that influence traits such as plant height, flowering time, grain weight, and yield per hectare. The GWAS approach has been used to detect loci controlling maize yield-related traits such as yield per plant (GYP), ear length (EL), kernel row number (KRN), kernel length (KL), kernel width (GW), 100 kernel weight (HKW), and kernel test weight (KTW).
• Candidate gene identification and annotation. Through extensive bioinformatics analysis, we help you identify candidate genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL) that are strongly associated with yield-related traits. Our team of skilled bioinformaticians annotate and prioritize identified genes using a variety of databases and annotation tools.

Our services can be applied to the following research areas

• Crop breeding and variety development.
• Understand yield determinants.
• Sustainable agriculture and food security.

Service workflow

Fig. 2. CD Genomics' yield-related traits analysis service process.

Our advantages and features

• Cutting-edge technology. We utilize the latest genotyping platforms and sequencing technologies to ensure the generation of accurate and comprehensive genotyping data.
• Advanced bioinformatics analysis. Our team of skilled bioinformaticians utilize powerful bioinformatics tools, databases, and annotation pipelines to effectively analyze and interpret genomic data.
• Customized services. We work closely with researchers and breeders to ensure customized and tailored solutions for each project.
• Fast turnaround times. our streamlined workflows and efficient processes allow us to deliver results within the required timeframe.

CD Genomics provides SNP markers for genome-wide association mapping of crop yield and yield-related traits. By leveraging our expertise and advanced technologies, researchers and breeders can unravel the genetic basis of yield-related traits and accelerate crop improvement programs. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.

Reference

1. Zeng, Tingru, et al. "Genome wide association analysis for yield related traits in maize." BMC Plant Biology. 22.1 (2022): 449.